


Wild Waves

by Allerleirauh



Category: Sapphire and Steel
Genre: Assignment Six References, Community: trope_bingo, Fluff, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Post Series, more shippy than expected
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-18
Updated: 2013-04-18
Packaged: 2017-12-08 20:59:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/765949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allerleirauh/pseuds/Allerleirauh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Silver, Steel, a day on the beach, threats being made, promises given, and a tacit first-time taking place – Element style, but that’s a given.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wild Waves

Silver had long since grown used to the inevitable boredom that often befell him between assignments. While he always preferred to have something to do, to be useful, to keep both his mind and hands occupied, the times of inactivity that came in-between were inevitable, and he had learned to make his peace with it, even though it felt terribly redundant.

Of course, one of the reasons that he didn’t like these times of waiting was that they often left him on his own. For Silver, who was one of the more sociable Elements, that was an additional hardship. It wasn’t as if there was _no one_ around, but more often than not Sapphire or Steel weren’t among those who were. Lately they had made themselves rather scarce and he wasn’t completely sure why, though he had his suspicions. Therefore he was more than pleasantly surprised when at least one of the two suddenly showed up.

In want of having anything better to do, Silver had chosen a beach as a suitable place to pass the time and wait to be called upon. He liked beaches, and this beach, located in a region called the Camargue, had appeared especially suited to his current state of mind and general preferences. The warm weather and steady breeze were pleasant enough, the large breaking waves certainly suited his sense of the dramatic, and the shoreline offered a multitude of opportunities to discover interesting objects, old and new, but all interesting if not to say fascinating.

Observing the few other people on the beach and following the predominant fashion, he had exchanged his grey suit for a pair of casual trousers and a loose shirt, foregoing any shoes. He’d rolled up his trousers’ legs and had begun to idly walk along the shoreline. He had consciously ignored the passage of time and had just walked, looking out for interesting objects and enjoying the simple sensuality of his surroundings, when a voice echoing through his mind, interrupted his solitude.

_Hello, Silver._

He turned and there was Steel, standing in front of him, no more than a few feet away, his suit’s trousers already getting soaked by the water playing around his feet.

“Steel,” he replied aloud. “What a pleasant surprise.” He cocked his head to the side, waiting for a reply, because it really _was_ a surprise. A beach most certainly wasn’t one of Steel’s preferred habitats, and he wasn’t known to be an enthusiast for taking strolls. If he needed Silver for a task, he would have simply called instead of coming to fetch him in person. No, something was definitely up.

Steel looked at him wordlessly, then down at himself and with a single stroke of his hand over his chest his clothing had changed, mimicking Silver’s down to the rolled up trousers.

“Let’s walk, shall we?” Steel said. Without waiting for a reply he stepped past Silver and started to march along the shoreline.

Silver was baffled. For a long moment he stared at Steel’s back before he caught himself and hastened to keep up with Steel. Drawing level with him, he decided to push a bit more, “So, what brings you to my little part of the beach?”

Steel didn’t return his gaze, but seemed completely focused on the incoming waves. “It’s been a while since we’ve worked together, you and I and Sapphire.”

“Yes, Steel, I had noticed,” Silver replied and he couldn’t help a distinct note of sullenness creeping into his voice.

Outwardly Steel didn’t react. Gazing at the waves, rushing towards the beach, where they broke and ran up the shore in long laps of white water, he continued as if he hadn’t even heard Silver’s comment, “The time Sapphire and I have spent between stars. It has made us think about a lot of things and re-evaluate quite a few others.” He threw a casual glance at Silver, and then pointed towards the beach. “Let’s sit down,” he said abruptly and there was no doubt about it; this was a command, not a request or a suggestion.

Silver complied without giving it much thought, changing his direction and walking farther up the beach. He contemplated how odd a phrase it was that Steel had just used — between stars. The sound of it left Silver with a chill, and he wasn’t sure he liked the direction this conversation was taking.

Sitting down he looked up at Steel, trying to discern from his expression what might be coming next. Steel sat down at his side. He stretched out his legs, and for a while he simply stared at his naked feet. It was a brooding look, making Silver wonder what Steel made of the wet sand clinging to his skin. Silver had discovered that he rather enjoyed the feeling of it under his feet and between his toes, but to Steel it most probably constituted nothing but a nuisance.

“We also _talked_ between stars — Sapphire and I. We talked about a lot of things. Would it surprise you to learn, that we also talked about _you_?” Steel continued at last, picking up his narrative and giving Silver a look that was positively grim.

Now Silver was feeling even more uncomfortable. Shifting around a bit, he crossed his legs, all the while keeping Steel’s face under close scrutiny. They had talked about him? Normally the idea would have been flattering, but considering the specific circumstances his two fellow Elements had been in at the time, he wasn’t so sure about that. He also wasn’t sure how to respond. Somehow one of his usual flippant remarks felt highly inadequate right now.

Turning towards him, Steel shifted, too, until he was kneeling beside Silver, very close and facing him now. “You’ve always been very flirtatious around Sapphire, haven’t you Silver?” It wasn’t so much a question as it was a statement.

“Well, you don’t think there’s any harm in that—” Silver began. He was feeling not only uncomfortable, but completely lost by the way this conversation was developing.

“Don’t I?” Steel said, and surprisingly his voice was full of amusement. “And what do you know about what I think, Silver?” He asked with one of his rare smiles.

Silver tried to come up with any sensible answer, but Steel was faster.

“You’ve never flirted with me. I wonder why,” he said and now his voice had lost all traces of amusement again.

That, of course, was so obviously untrue that for a moment Silver couldn’t decide if he should laugh or protest. In the end he settled for a combination of both, when he replied with a chuckle, “My dear Steel, I have no idea, where you are heading with this—”

“Yes, I can imagine that you’re feeling somewhat at a loss,” Steel interrupted him, and it was eerie how his words mirrored Silver’s thoughts only a few moments ago. “You see, I’ve always considered you as fairly useful, Silver, even though I’ve also considered your _advances_ as slightly ludicrous most of the time.” He smiled lopsidedly as if he wanted to take some of the sting out of his last words.

So, Steel had been aware of his flirting, Silver thought. At least he had the decency to admit it, even if he combined his acknowledgement with an insult; that Silver could accept. He was talking with Steel after all. Slightly barbed comments were a second nature to him.

“I have always doubted your seriousness,” Steel remarked.

Had he changed the subject once again, or were they still taking about flirting, Silver wondered. Anyway he felt that it was high time that he got back into this conversation. “There’s a difference between being serious and being grim,” he answered lightly. He let his head fall back, breaking eye contact with Steel for the first time since they had sat down. Above them the sky was a canvas of deep blue, dappled with a wispy spray of clouds.

“You think so? I believe that we have to deal with ever increasing dangers. I believe those are very good reasons to be grim.”

Silver smiled at Steel’s words. He didn’t have to look at Steel. He could hear the accompanying eye-roll. There was a lot of truth in Steel’s words; Silver was all too aware of that. He gave the sky a last glance; then he looked back at Steel again. “Believe me, I know of the danger. I’m not a fool, Steel.”

“Sapphire misses you.”

Hearing that Silver couldn’t help but smile in open delight. “I miss her, too. Actually I miss both of you,” Silver said quickly, being much more frank than he would usually be. Yet, he felt that the admission was fitting considering the all over strangeness of their conversation so far. After all, it was only the truth; he really was missing the two of them.

“So, not a fool and fairly useful.” Steel looked at him sharply and shook his head. “I’m sorry, but it’s not enough.”

Silver frowned, feeling disappointed. He wasn’t sure what Steel was implying, but it almost sounded as if he had been weighed and considered too light to be adequate, and he strongly resented the idea. “I beg your pardon,” he said, raising his eyebrows, not caring about the indignation creeping into his voice.

“It all boils down to trust.”

The words brought Silver’s racing mind to an abrupt hold. They had come full circle, he realised. They were back to that last assignment that had almost ended in a catastrophe and had left Sapphire and Steel stranded between stars, as Steel had phrased it.

It was as he had feared. They hadn’t believed him; they weren’t believing him. He had suspected that they were avoiding him, and now he knew. All his assurances to the contrary had been in vain. This was all useless. He wanted to get away, no, he needed to get away. He tried to get up, only, he didn’t get far.

With a casual push, Steel sent him sprawling backwards, Silver’s back and head hitting the sand. Suddenly Steel was kneeling over him, straddling his hips, with both of Steel’s hands resting beside Silver’s head. He was trapped, trapped and confused and more than a little startled by the swiftness of Steel’s actions. On one hand Steel’s eyes held a definite threat and it scared Silver like few other things ever had. He had no idea what Steel might be capable of, but he held no illusions about his chances against his colleague should this turn into some sort of fight. On the other hand, he found Steel’s presence, his closeness, his undivided attention on Silver highly alluring. He wasn’t a stranger to that reaction, the push and pull that had always been such an integral part of their dynamics.

“So tell me, Silver, just how trustworthy are you?”

Silver narrowed his eyes as his anger rose. It wasn’t the first time that Steel had questioned his loyalties, and Silver understood the context and the reason why Steel was doing so once again, but that didn’t mean that he would acquiesce to this kind of treatment just like that. Bringing up his hands he tried to push against Steel’s chest, only to find his wrists caught in an unrelenting grip, and then pressed down against his own chest, a position that left him completely immobilised.

His reaction was largely instinctive; he tried to leave the beach, tried to leave completely whatever the consequences of such an action might be. When he realised that he couldn’t, that something was forcing him to stay he almost panicked. What if Steel was playing with him? What if Steel had come here to harm him? The whole situation appeared far more dangerous than he had initially thought. He tried to struggle, pressing his feet against the sand to gain at least some leverage to push Steel off of him. It didn’t work, of course, it didn’t work.

“It’s alright, Silver,” Steel said, suddenly letting go of Silver’s wrists. Maybe Steel had seen the naked fear on Silver’s face, maybe it had been something else. Silver didn’t care much what had swayed Steel to pull back. The only important thing was that he had, allowing Silver a bit more breathing space, even if he was still trapped beneath Steel.

“It’s important. I— that is we, Sapphire and I, we simply have to be sure. After what happened at that service station and later on, we have to be even more cautious,” Steel said. Leaning slightly down, he placed the palm of his right hand at the hollow of Silver’s throat.

Strangely enough this gesture didn’t feel threatening to Silver.

“At the service station, you were suddenly gone,” Steel continued. “You had vanished, and later when we were back you claimed that it was your doing.” Steel stared at him unblinkingly as if he wanted to see every reaction on Silver’s face, every nuance of it however minimal it might be.

“I told you that I was captured,” Silver replied, carefully. “The old one and that false musician took me.”

“Yes, so you said.” The unspoken ‘but’ hung in the air like an accusation.

“Do you expect me to prove it? How could I, Steel?” Silver’s fear and anger were slowly changing into frustration. They had this discussion before, he and Steel and Sapphire. Both operators had been highly sceptical about his story, about what had happened to him, and even more so about his ingenious way of rescuing them. He huffed in indignation.

Steel gave him another of his rare smiles. “There is a way—” he said, his voice turning slow and soft.

“What are you proposing?” Silver asked, abruptly suspicious.

Instead of answering, Steel only intensified the pressure of his palm resting against Silver’s chest.

The gesture confused Silver even more. Then he suddenly understood. “Oh,” he said. “Oh, my, who would have thought—” he began, before his words were cut off by a mouth descending on his own. It was a dizzying feeling. Of all the things he had envisioned when he had imagined something even remotely comparable to what was happening now, this particular action had been the least likely.

Certainly, as Elements they were all used to dealing with many different states of matter. Their work asked for a great flexibility when it came to assuming organic forms. Still, he would have wagered that Steel was one of _those_ Elements that held themselves aloof from such divertissements as they were indulging in now.

 _Silver?_ Steel’s voice in his mind sounded slightly worried.

Silver wondered why, until he realised that at least some form of reciprocation might be expected of him here. So far he had mostly held still, too surprised at the sudden turn of events. This was easily remedied however, and so he brought up his hands to encircle Steel’s waist.

Obviously it was just the reaction Steel had been waiting for, because suddenly he was _there,_ all of him _,_ a mental brush against Silver’s mind, carefully articulated to equal a polite knocking at someone else’s door.

Had the kiss been something of a shock, albeit an entertaining one, this new development startled Silver even more profoundly.

 _This is what you want, Silver._ Steel’s voice echoed in his mind. _You know it is._ Breaking the kiss, Steel pulled slightly back, looking down at Silver with an expression that wasn’t particularly friendly, but it wasn’t threatening either.

Silver couldn’t deny it, but there were other considerations. _What about Sapphire? Shouldn’t she be here, too?_

 _There’s time for that later. As I said, we need to be sure,_ Steel answered.

Maybe Silver was imagining it, but he could have sworn that Steel sounded almost apologetic. Silver thought he understood. _You’re shielding her, protecting her. You’re testing out the water so to speak, to make certain it’s safe, that_ I _am safe,_ he stated.

Steel raised an eyebrow. _Always._

_Does she know you’re here?_

_Yes. She’s watching—_ Steel began.

 _—making sure that nothing happens to you, ready to step in and protect_ you _in turn,_ Silver continued.

 _In a fashion,_ Steel replied. Leaning down and close he whispered into Silver’s ear, “Are you stalling, Silver?”

The words and the sensation made Silver chuckle nervously. “You’re asking for a lot of trust. I don’t like to be cornered like this, Steel.” He licked his lips and took a deep breath. This _was_ what he wanted after all. “Oh, very well, but let’s be clear about one thing: I expect compensation for this, and I expect it soon.” He put on his most playful smile, and with another long intake of breath he opened the door and invited Steel in.


End file.
